Assessment of environmental impact of gemstone mining in Ijero-Ekiti, Nigeria

Purpose. To examine the environmental impacts of gemstone mining activities on the people of Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methods. Soil and water test were carried out on samples from the mine and its environment. Remote sensing as a tool for environmental assessment was introduced to generate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Use Land Cover maps using ArcGIS 10 software. Findings. Water test carried out on stream, well and pond shows that some of the samples are slightly acidic. Total Dissolved Solid and hardness analysis show ranges lower than the acceptable limit given by Nigerian Industrial Standard and the World Health Organization (WHO). Iron concentration was found to be exceptionally higher than the permissible standard given by the WHO rendering the water resources unfit for drinking. Soil test carried out in the area proved that the soil is good for agriculture as it is high in nitrogen and organic matter content. Originality. This assertion can be back up by the results of the NDVI analysis which shows an increase in vegetation index from 0.2190 in the year of 1991 to 0.2435 in the year of 2013. Land use change detection analysis also showed a slight change in land use over the year from 2005 to 2010. This may be attributed to the fact that the gemstone mining is conducted on a small scale. Practical implications. Test results can be used in making recommendations to the community. Farmers cultivating land where samples S1 and S4 were taken need to apply fertilizer to bring up the percentage of organic matter of the soil. Provision of drinkable water sources should be made to the community. Remote sensing as the applied tool has proved its usefulness in environmental degradation assessing. It gives the possibility of generating an environmental database for impact assessment in regional context which can be a difficult task when carried out by the conventional method.Мета. Вивчити вплив на навколишнє середовище і жителів Іжеро-Екіті (штат Екіті, Нігерія) розробки родовищ дорогоцінного каміння. Методика. Для проведення досліджень проведено відбір проб ґрунтів і води з прилеглої місцевості шахти. Застосовано дистанційне зондування в якості інструменту екологічної оцінки для визначення нормалізованого відносного індексу рослинності (НВІР), а також карти землекористування й рослинного покриву за допомогою програмного забезпечення ArcGIS 10. Результати. Встановлено, що взяті у діючій свердловині та ставку-відстійнику зразки води є слабокислотними. Повний аналіз розчиненої твердої речовини й аналіз на жорсткість води показали менший розкид величин, ніж допустима межа, що визначена галузевим стандартом Нігерії та Всесвітньої організацій охорони здоров’я (ВООЗ), а рівень концентрації заліза значно вище допустимих меж, визначених ВООЗ для водних ресурсів, непридатних для пиття. Аналіз ґрунту в цьому районі підтвердив, що він придатний для сільського господарства, оскільки містить багато азоту й органічної речовини. Наукова новизна. За результатами аналізу НОІР спостерігається зростання вегетативного індексу з 0.2190 у 1991 році до 0.2435 у 2013 році. Аналіз визначення змін у землекористуванні також показав незначне річне різноманіття протягом року з 2005 до 2010. Це пояснюється тим фактом, що видобуток дорогоцінного каміння ведеться в невеликих масштабах. Практична значимість. Результати аналізів якості ґрунтів і води в районі видобутку можна використовувати при складанні рекомендацій для місцевого населення. Для підвищення продуктивності аграрного сектора в районі, де були взяті проби S1 і S4, слід застосовувати добриво, аби збільшити процентний вміст органічної речовини у ґрунті. Дистанційне зондування довело свою ефективність для оцінки погіршення екологічноїЦель. Изучить воздействие на окружающую среду и жителей Ижеро-Экити (штат Экити, Нигерия) разработки месторождений драгоценных камней. Методика. Для проведения исследований произведен отбор проб почв и воды из окрестностей шахты. Применено дистанционное зондирование в качестве инструмента экологической оценки для определения нормализованного относительного индекса растительности (НОИР), а также карты землепользования и растительного покрова посредством программного обеспечения ArcGIS 10. Результаты. Установлено, что взятые в действующей скважине и пруде-отстойнике образцы воды являются слабокислотными. Полный анализ растворенного твердого вещества и анализ на жесткость воды показали меньший разброс величин, чем допустимый предел, определенный отраслевым стандартом Нигерии и Всемирной организаций здравоохранения (ВОЗ), а уровень концентрации железа значительно выше приемлемых пределов, определенных ВОЗ для водных ресурсов, непригодных для питья. Анализ почвы в этом районе подтвердил, что она пригодна для сельского хозяйства, поскольку содержит много азота и органического вещества. Научная новизна. По результатам анализа НОИР наблюдается рост вегетативного индекса с 0.2190 в 1991 году до 0.2435 в 2013 году. Анализ определения изменений в землепользовании также показал незначительное годовое разнообразие на протяжении года с 2005 до 2010. Это объясняется тем фактом, что добыча драгоценных камней ведется в небольших масштабах. Практическая значимость. Результаты анализов качества почв и воды в районе добычи можно использовать при составлении рекомендаций для местного населения. Для повышения продуктивности аграрного сектора в районе, где были взяты пробы S1 и S4, следует применять удобрение, чтобы увеличить процентное содержание органического вещества в почве. Дистанционное зондирование доказало свою эффективность для оценки ухудшения экологической ситуации. Это дает возможность создания базы данных региональной оценки состояния окружающей среды, что весьма затруднительно при использовании традиционной методики.This research is sponsored by FUTA 003/15 project. The authors appreciate their contribution toward the success of the work. Input of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is also appreciated

Object Oriented Terrain Databases For Visual Simulators

Report on a project to develop methodologies and solutions to the problem of representation and utilization of dynamic terrain on a real-time simulator

Global Environmental Microelectromechanical Systems Sensors: Advanced Weather Observation System

The technological developments in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have resulted in conceptualisation of a next generation observation system called global environmental MEMS sensors (GEMS). GEMS consists of a large number of airborne probes that will remain suspended in the atmosphere for long durations and take in situ measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, wind direction and velocity as these are carried by air currents. It is envisaged that GEMS network would provide a systematic understanding of the earths atmosphere and would improve weather forecast accuracy, well beyond the current capability. In addition to gathering meteorological data, probes could be used for environmental monitoring of particulate emissions, organic and inorganic pollutants, ozone, carbon dioxide, and chemical, biological, or nuclear contaminants. The GEMS concept requires integration of communication engineering and instrumentation with other evolving technologies. This review describes in detail the new observation system designed for environmental monitoring and its potential application in predicting cyclones and monsoon, and measurement of urban air pollution in India. The possible application of the GEMS system during military operations has also been brought out.Defence Science Journal, 2009, 59(6), pp.659-665, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.59.157

Associations between natural resource extraction and incidence of acute and chronic health conditions: evidence from Tanzania

Natural resource extraction projects are often accompanied by complex environmental and social-ecological changes. In this paper, we evaluated the association between commodity extraction and the incidence of diseases. We retrieved council (district)-level outpatient data from all public and private health facilities from the District Health Information System (DHIS2). We combined this information with population data from the 2012 national population census and a geocoded list of resource extraction projects from the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST). We used Poisson regression with random effects and cluster-robust standard errors to estimate the district-level associations between the presence of three types of commodity extraction (metals, gemstone, and construction materials) and the total number of patients in each disease category in each year. Metal extraction was associated with reduced incidence of several diseases, including chronic diseases (IRR = 0.61, CI: 0.47-0.80), mental health disorders (IRR = 0.66, CI: 0.47-0.92), and undernutrition (IRR = 0.69, CI: 0.55-0.88). Extraction of construction materials was associated with an increased incidence of chronic diseases (IRR = 1.47, CI: 1.15-1.87). This study found that the presence of natural resources commodity extraction is significantly associated with changes in disease-specific patient volumes reported in Tanzania's DHIS2. These associations differed substantially between commodities, with the most protective effects shown from metal extraction

Object Oriented Geographic Databases

Tato práce demonstruje použití objektově orientovaných geografických databází. Vychází z geografických informačních systémů. Popisuje jejich základní vlastnosti a možnosti použití v praxi. V práci jsou popsány základní vlastnosti a metody objektově orientovaného použití. Ty jsou demonstrovány na geografických informačních systémech. Je zaveden pojem objektově orientovaný rastr a objektově orientovaný vektor a způsob uložení jednotlivých prvků v objektově orientované databázi. Návrh způsobu ukládání dat do geografické objektově-orientované databáze je podložen případovou studií.This paper demonstrates object oriented geographic databases's applying. It is based on geographic information systems. It describes properties of geographical information systems and their uses in practise. There are also described main properties and methods of object oriented standards in this paper. All of them are used in geographical oriented systems. New ideas are defined, object oriented raster, object oriented vector and some methods defining storing these items in object oriented database. Proposal for a method of storing data in a geographical object-oriented database is supported by case study.

Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Chromolaena odorata Collected Around Gemstone Mining Site in Ijero-Ekiti

In Nigeria, like many developing nations, the resultant effect of land degradation: aggravated soil erosion, flood disasters, salinization or alkalisation, and the desertification have been a major public health concern for the past decades, however this study highlighted some of the factors that leads to the menace of soil fertility. The study was conducted at a gemstone mining site in Ijero Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. The soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-15 cm top soil and 0-30 cm subsoil. A line transect of 20 cm was drawn and soil sample was collected, all samples were kept in a clean container and labeled accordingly before been transported to the laboratory for analysis. The plant samples were thoroughly washed with distilled water to remove dust and other particles, air dried in a dust free wire meshed cage. All data obtained from this research were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result obtained in this study indicated that the levels of heavy metal concentration tested were still within the permissible limit in the root and shoot of Chromolaena odorata between the mine and control site. The implication of this is that Chromolaena odorata is safe for human and animal consumption. The said plant can readily undergo photosynthetic activity to aid growth by exploiting the presence of these metals either as a macro-nutrient or micro-nutrient as seen from the Translocation Factor and Metal Transfer Factor. The study concludes that soil at Ijero-Ekiti mine site were slightly acidic soil pH, reduced organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable cations and averagely elevated heavy metal contents

Directory of research and development based on Ordnance Survey small scales digital data

Special issue (CISRG - Cartographic Information Systems Research Group) ;

User Defined Types and Nested Tables in Object Relational Databases

Bernadette Byrne, Mary Garvey, ‘User Defined Types and Nested Tables in Object Relational Databases’, paper presented at the United Kingdom Academy for Information Systems 2006: Putting Theory into Practice, Cheltenham, UK, 5-7 June, 2006.There has been much research and work into incorporating objects into databases with a number of object databases being developed in the 1980s and 1990s. During the 1990s the concept of object relational databases became popular, with object extensions to the relational model. As a result, several relational databases have added such extensions. There has been little in the way of formal evaluation of object relational extensions to commercial database systems. In this work an airline flight logging system, a real-world database application, was taken and a database developed using a regular relational database and again using object relational extensions, allowing the evaluation of the relational extensions.Peer reviewe